A Snake's Son

The Potions Master

The next day Harry went down to the Great Hall the others in tow, Breakfast was already on the tables and it smelt really good, breakfast is the most important meal of the day so Harry filled his plate and made sure to work through it all, the sausages were his favourite, he made sure to slip some to Ouro when no one was looking. Ouro was back around his neck and looking around at the hall, his dark colouring helping him to blend in with Harry's robes.

"Master," He hissed "Dumbledore is staring at you. He does not look happy." Harry glanced over and saw that Dumbledore was staring at him but he turned away when he saw Harry look.

"Thank you for warning me Ouro."  He said as he went back to his food. But most of the great hall was looking at him, they had all thought the-boy-who-lived would have been sorted into Gryffindor. Snape came along the table handing out the timetables to the students, as he passed instead of tossing Harry's in front of him he handed it to Harry.

Soon it was time for his first lessons of the day, they were very hard to get to, everything in Hogwarts seemed to move or change, The Bloody Baron was some help in finding their way but Peeves and Filch were more trouble than their worth. He had astronomy, transfiguration charms, defence against the dark arts and history of magic all in the first week. On Friday was the lesson he was looking forward to, Potions. Admittedly he wouldn't have Snape to himself and he had to share with the Gryffindor's but while he was studying with Tom he had been told about just how good Snape was, he was so good he had been given the position of not only potions master at Hogwarts but Voldemort's top brewer. He made the potions Tom needed for his followers or missions, Tom made the ones he himself ingested for security reasons.

Harry wanted to become proficient in all the types of magic and could think of no one better then Snape to teach him potions. He and the Gryffindor's waited outside. Earlier he had received a message form Hagrid asking him to meet him, naturally he had roped the other three into going with him but it was safe to say that he wasn't looking forward to it.

Snape started by taking the register, Harry was next to Draco, Ron next to Hermione and Crabbe and Goyle behind them. They were near the front of the room and were listening to Snape's speech carefully, taking in every word.

"Longbottom," he said suddenly "What would I get if a added powdered root of aspholdel to an infusion of worm wood?"

Neville looked stumped and said in a small squeaky voice "I don't know sir."

"Let's try again. Longbottom where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" By this point Hermione had put her hand in the air. Snape looked over to her and while no one was looking gave her a small smirk to show that he was planning something. She returned with a small smile and dropped her arm back down.

"I don't know sir." Neville repeated whilst Draco, Ron Crabbe and Goyle were shaking with laughter at him. Harry just sat back amused, he was going to like it here.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Longbottom?" Neville looked like a rabbit caught in headlights, it was funny to think someone like him ended up in Gryffindor. "What is the difference, Longbottom, between monkshood and wolfs-bane?"

"I don't know sir." Neville whispered, Draco and Ron now sniggering.

"Hermione would you care to answer?" Snape asked in a much kinder voice, so it was true, he did favour Slytherin.

"Yes sir, asphodel and Wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfs-bane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite." She said while smirking at the Gryffindor's.

"All three correct miss Granger three points to Slytherin, and three points from Gryffindor for Longbottom's incompetence."

During the lesson, they worked in pairs to make a simple potion that cures boils, Snape swept along the lines of desks watching them weigh dried nettles and crushed snake fangs, criticising everyone except Harry's group who he seemed to like. He was telling everyone to look at the perfect way Draco had stewed his horned slugs as Harry added the crushed fangs precisely into their cauldron when a large cloud of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Nevil had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds the whole class was standing on their stools out of reach of the potion. Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron of the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. "Take him to the hospital wing." Snape spat at Seamus, before turning back round to Harrys group and continued almost tutoring them as they made their potions. Safe to say Harry and his friends got full marks, except Crabbe and Goyle. They got T's.